A Burlington church van being driven to the repair shop Friday morning caught fire and is now a total loss. No one was injured and the incident could have been much worse had it happened a day later, the church’s pastor said.

John Mitchell, a trustee and member of First Wesleyan Church in Burlington, was driving the church’s 1999 Dodge van to an automotive shop for a repair job when it caught fire on South Main Street, said Dennis Boone, senior pastor at the church at 304 S. Anthony Street.

“He was headed to Burlington Tire (Service),” said Capt. Blair Keck, who responded with the Burlington Fire Department at about 9:20 a.m. Friday. Keck said Mitchell, who was the only person in the van, had noticed smoke coming from the vehicle and jumped out in time.

“I went to open the doors and they were locked,” said Keck, who opened the van’s door so firefighter Jacob Dowd could extinguish the fire. “I guess people are creatures of habit,” Keck said. He added it was better using Mitchell’s key to open the vehicle’s door than having to break the window’s glass.

Keck said the cause of the fire is unknown, and most of the damage was in the engine and dashboard compartments of the vehicle.

“The fire started in the engine compartment … and it spread into the dash,” and burned part of the passenger area, he said. The fire department said the damage was about $10,000, but, “We estimated a total loss because of the damage and the age of the vehicle.”

Boone said the van was the only one First Wesleyan Church owned.

“I’m sure it’s totaled,” said Boone.

Another church planned to borrow the van Saturday to leave on a missions trip to West Virginia, and Boone said at least the fire didn’t happen during the trip.

“It can be replaced,” said Boone. “Everyone else is fine, and that’s the main thing.”